Comparing schools and courses

Now that I have to take my decision, I thought of listing down factors to consider to make decision when there are offers from more than one school and course.



There are two parts to this - school and the course and they both go hand in hand.



First step is to prioritize what is more important of the following and decide accordingly



1. Career aspirations - Do you want to work or go for further education

2. Methodology - More handson or more theory

3. Region of work - where do you want to work

4. Region of comfort - where do you have more friends, place familiarity etc

5. Food habits - availability of particular food choices specially if you're vegetarian

6. Social life - Do you want more community involvement or are happier on your own

7. Party life - Do you like to go out in the evening a lot

8. Commute - Are you okay with walking or have to take a bus or need a car

9. Reputation of the university

10. Reputation of School

11. Reputation of course

12. Peer group - Too many people or too less

13. Accommodation preferences - Do you want a hostel or are ok looking for something by yourself

These are just some I was able to think now... There can be lot specially if you have a family. Btw, most of the b schools have spouse community which has a lot more fun. If your spouse is working or if you have kids of school going age well u got to think a lot more.

An easy way to shortlist schools is to begin with your main focus. If it's finances then look for tuition, cost of living, scholarships available etc. If it's job security then region, ranking and placement data is important. If location then you know how to begin and so you begin with first cut.
Next comes your chances - typically everyone will say aim for 1-2 top ends, 3-4 wit fairly good chances and 1-2 sure shots. The problem is u never know where things go wrong or where they might click. In my case my sure shots dint work out either and i know of mor such stories. I also k ow people who were discouraged from applying to a school cuz it was out of his league and he made it through quite easily. My take on this is you know what you want, listen to your heart and then use some brains to self analyze your capability. When on doubt - outsource!

Let me go back to the shortlisting of school and course. There are times we are lost in the glamor of going to a top ten or twenty ranked b-school that we either not make it or fight it out at each stage - loans, school work, peer pressure, job hunt and then loan payback. You may sometimes find a lesser known school with great faculty n placements n less expensive too smwhere in lower ranks.

Similarly in glamor of MBA you might forget that all you care for is to get into a particular organization or field of work n miss out on looking at other courses that can take u same place. Like cfa for finance professionals, crm courses, ms courses on project management, SPHR for HR professionals. I'm sure there is a lot more out there in the market that we're not very familiar with.

My big tip on selecting school - know what you want to do, your studying is means to get somewhre MBA should not be the end goal!

Ohhh n also don't be a conformist, do wht u feel is right for u... Good luck!

NYU MS in HR

Last evening when i least expected i got an email from NYU that my results are now available for my application. And it was a positive...

I think i missed mentioning about my LSE and NYU apps in detail on this blog. Well these were two courses i applied to out of my interest in a course in Org Dev.

I could never be sure on which I preferred but I did expect to get through them. So i now have both results in hand and both positive. This is a good place to be in.





- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad

Location:,Hyderabad,India

Post admission - preparing for the move

In the next few posts I'll write about my preparation to move - Visa, Loans, Travels, Connecting with alum, Summer job, Part time work options, Driving License, Accom etc.

The first thing that hit me is that I won't be earning for an year. Trust me the impact of this is much higher when you come closer to jumping in, nothing can prepare you for this feeling. The impact is worse if you have been working for long! Suddenly the entire life will change from earning and living lavishly to studying. Moreover, my course is lot more academic which is a huge transition considering last I went to school was 10 years back and that too I did not do much subjective work.
I always thought I would quit my job a few months earlier, travel India and then move out. The entire perspective is now shifted to working till last minute, take 20 days before travel to pack and shift to my hometown, spend time with my parents and then head out.

The first step is to make a list of things to do -

* Visa - Applications have to go 3 months before date of travel so I have to wait till July
* Loans - Doesn't look complicated as I don't have to fund a two year MBA at a big B-School. (For those considering going to B schools, think this over very carefully)
* Driving License - haven't even started to find out how this works
* Accommodation - Connected with seniors and applied for school halls (they look good)
* Travel tickets - haven't decided the date, planning to block tickets already
* Part time work options - no clue yet!
* Alumni connections - already started on this, they are very helpful
* Sell my stuff - I have loads of things I'll have to sell before I shift including about 200 books! Will have to hold this till I get my visa and then go through the last month selling mania
* Meet people - family and friends I want to meet before I travel

London School of Economics

7 weeks after submitting application, 3 days of super intuitive anxiety... An emil in the mailbox on the busiest day at work late in the eve... 5 minutes before an extremely important meeting. the first thot another reject and then before clicking... I need to be positive and the first line... "i'm pleased to inform you..."
LSE it is... Masters in organization and social psychology. Still time before i decide whether i hit this or pursue the more sought after MBA greens. But for now i know i have what i need.

Like i mentioned in my earlier blogs, MBA is not the end its only a means for me to get where i want to. If its not my top choice of London Business School, well... London it still is!

Will write more on what i consider to decide and what my final decision will be.


- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad

Location:Hyderabad,India

TOEFL results and after reject plans

So I took TOEFL finally. I can't comment on how to prepare for it because I never prepared. I registered 6 weeks in advance and couldn't prepare. 5 days before the date I thought of rescheduling but couldn't due to internet issues. And the rescheduling does not happen 2 days before the test. So I decided to jump in. In two days all I did was to look at question patterns, go through some online resources and went for my test. And to top it all I went for speaking test with bad throat.
After the plush GMAT center TOEFL test was a huge disappointment. My story of TOEFL center isn't as bad as many I have read online. People there were courteous, we got a locker. During the speaking section everyone around is audible and gets the same questions. I was able to hear what others were replying.
Well for as bad a prep as I had I got a 102 which is good enough for me to apply to courses that I want to. I would not be able to give tips as I did not really put in effort.

Now also comes time to start looking at what am I doing this year.

First step - Request feedback from schools from last year
Second step - Relook at feedback from people who reviewed my essays and applications
Third step - Re evaluate goals and aspirations
Fourth step - Do I still want to do an MBA?
Fifth step - School selection
Sixth step - Hunt for recommenders and start socializing with them... second most dreaded one
Seventh step - Apply! the most dreaded one for me

My checklist

First step done
Second step - in process
Third step - this is easy cuz my aspirations remain
Fourth step - hmmm... this is a tough one cuz I have made tremendous progress at work and that changes well not everything but a lot! Do I still need an MBA - I do need some form of higher education. I'm lost on options out there in the market. Also age plays a role as I'm growing older.

So its time now for self exploration reflection! more as I decide my path...